Stuck Rear Door

[AlexMB]

Hello, 1st time van and Bongo owner here with limited car knowledge…rear door of my Bongo is no longer opening. She’d done a 6 hour drive to Poole then sat for 2 days in damp conditions. When I came to use her again central locking wasn’t working and neither was new fancy radio but she turned over okay. When back home and rest of central locking was back to normal but not back door. Also noticed that the light in living area is now not working. Any ideas? Could it be a leisure battery issue or something like a fuse?

[g8dhe]

Welcome aboard!

Sounds like you have had a leisure battery fitted in front of the passenger seat under the bonnet, if so then 4 circuits are diverted from the internal fuse panel to the leisure battery - however it sounds like the LB has been allowed to go flat and hence no power to the various circuits including the locks etc. they will only be powered once the engine is running and charging the LB. You will need to plug into EHU to charge the battery (assuming you have EHU fitted as well ?) or take the vehicle for a good long run, however you may also find that the charging fuses may have been blown depending on the type of installation, which is all after market and hence varies depending on who installed it.

[AlexMB]

Thanks Geoff!
After I discovered the stuck door I had to do a four hour drive, so I’m guessing that would have charged the LB. Unfortunately I’ve no idea who installed the LB as the have has come with limited paperwork apart from the essentials and no idea about the EHU either. The charging fuses sound promising. The only thing that aren’t working are the back interior light and the back door catch.

[g8dhe]

If its been converted/used as a camper van at all then its very common to fit a Leisure battery so that you have power in the rear of the van when the engine is off. Its normally (but not always) fitted under the bonnet on the nearside where there is a space designed to fit a second battery in a Bongo specifically for the Cold Start Northern Japan model. This battery then has an added Split Charge Relay to allow charging when driving from the alternator, and then 4 circuits are diverted from the internal fuse box across to this battery, along with any added wiring desired. Often in addition you can have Electrical Hook Up (EHU) fitted to allow charging and running the rear of the van when static on a campsite and/or Solar Panel mounted on top in parallel with the EHU to allow of grid camping. All of these additions are after market additions added in the UK and is what makes the van such a great camping vehicle.
A typical battery / charging setup is shown below;